Christian Saracens
Christian Saracens were Arabic peoples (Levantines, Berbers, or Bedouin), Turkic peoples (Turks and Turkmen), or Persian peoples (Persians and Kurds) that were converted to Christianity during the Crusades. Most of them were originally Muslims (either Sunni or Shia), but some were Druze or other branches of Christianity such as Nestorian Christianity or Orthodox Christianity. They are not to be confused with Arab Christians, as "Christian Saracens" refers exclusively to "Saracens" (eastern Muslims) that were converted to Christianity at the time of the Crusades (1096-1291). Most of them were massacred or converted to Islam by the Muslims towards the end of the era, while some of their descendants form modern-day Arab Christian communities. History Background By 1099, the First Crusade had ended and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, County of Tripoli, Principality of Antioch, and County of Edessa had been founded in the place of the Saracens that once occupied the Levant. The crusaders were vehemently anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish, and they slaughtered thousands of people in the fall of Jerusalem to make way for the Christians (ironically, many Arab Christians were killed during the fall of Jerusalem, as they were believed to be Muslim). Soon after, the crusader states began to set up their own bishops and began to convert the people of the Levant to Christianity. Origins The first Christian Saracens were the Muslims or other non-Catholics living in the lands occupied by the Europeans. Many people in the region were converted to Catholicism, and more people converted as the crusader states grew in size. Most of the Christian Saracens were Arabic people, as the Crusader States mostly presided over the Levant, although they also held parts of southern Turkey at times. There were already some Christians in the Levant, but many of these had been massacred by the crusaders, being caught in the Christian-Muslim crossfire. Therefore, there was a problem that Catholic rulers faced: they somehow had to differentiate their hatred of Islam with their hatred of Arabs, for they could convert some Saracens to Christianity. Most Christian Saracens were forced to convert on pain of death, but quite a few were descended from the oldest Christian community. Rights Christian Saracens did not share the same rights as the "Franks" initially, with the people ruling the crusader states mostly being French Catholic nobles invited to the realms to carve out fiefs for themselves. However, converts to Christianity gained some power later on, with Count Fakhr of Tripoli being converted to Catholicism by Raymond I of Tripoli. However, some of the converts were not originally Muslim; Count Tawfiq of Negev was originally a Nestorian Christian commander in the service of the Abbasid Caliphate who was invited to the court of King Godfrey de Bouillon and converted. Christian Saracens were also recruited into the crusader armies. Turcopoles were Christianized Seljuks, Orthodox Christians under crusader rule, or Muslim converts. These forces were hired as mercenaries, as it was hard to maintain a constant flow of Frankish troops to Outremer. Unfortunately, the Muslim Saracens hated these people, as they believed that they had betrayed Islam; Saladin massacred the 4,000 captured Turcopoles at the Battle of Hattin for apostasy, which was a crime in Islam. After the 1291 Fall of Acre, the Mamluks slaughtered almost all of the Turcopoles, with the last of them following the crusaders to Cyprus, Rhodes, and Malta. Impact on society The Crusades weakened Christianity in the Middle East, as the once-peaceful relations between Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the region was ruined when the crusaders fought in the name of Christianity against the other two religions. Muslims and Jews now saw Christians as killers and not brothers, causing a divide between the groups. The Christian Saracens have some modern descendants in Arab Christians, but most of the descendants of the Saracens converted to Catholicism during the Crusades would return to Islam after Muslim rule was restored by the Ayyubids and Mamluks. Category:Cultures Category:Christianity